The finest commentary to the greatest book of hadith – now in English!

Fatḥ al-Bari sharh al-Bukhari (‘Victory of the Creator: Commentary on Bukhari)’ by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani is widely considered to be the finest commentary on the greatest book of hadith. The initiation of its English translation is a seminal moment which we hope will represent a major contribution to a new wave of Islamic classics in English to meet the needs of Muslim communities in the English-speaking world and also the growing interest on the part of non-Muslims.

Together with the Majestic Qur’an, Hadiths– the recorded words, actions, approvals and disapprovals of the Prophet (P.B.U.H), – are the main sources of Islamic law and doctrine. Hadiths were evaluated through a rigorous selection process and were compiled in collections in book form of which Imam al-Bukhari’s al-Jami‘ al-Sahih is considered the greatest.

Over the centuries, hundreds of commentaries have been written on the Ṣaḥīḥ of al-Bukhari. None, however, have received the same degree of acclaim and critical approval as the Fatḥ al-Bari of Ibn Ḥajar al-Asqalani (d. 852/1449). This critically important work has retained its immense status and popularity over six centuries since it was completed, as is evident from the many editions available in Arabic today. The main reason for which is the tremendous breadth and depth of the author’s erudition, and the acuteness of his insights and judgement as are evident on every page, can be said to have set a new standard in Hadith scholarship.

Not a single complete commentary of any major Hadith work has ever been published in English, yet the need for them has never been greater than it is today. Hadith studies have suffered from widespread misrepresentation by orientalist scholarship along with the reductionist tendencies of many modernist ‘self-made’ scholars with no traditional training or qualifications freely propagating their own opinions and fatwas, now pose a real threat to the future centrality and stability of the mainstream traditional Islam of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama‘a especially in the West.

This is an immense publishing project, it is hoped that a new volume will be added every few months; the total number of volumes will be in the region of twenty.

At present, about one-third of the entire work has been translated.

This volume includes biographical entries for Imam al-Bukhari and Ibn Hajar, from classical works by al-Sakhawi and al-Khaṭib al-Baghdadi’s, as well as Ibn Ḥajar’s Hadi al-sari, whose partial translation includes an introduction to Fatḥ al-Bari, as well as a biography of Imam Bukhari. This leads to the commentary of Books 1, 2 and 3 of Sahih al-Bukhari.

About The Author

Imam Ahmad ibn Ali al-Asqalani (d. 852/1448), famously known as Ibn Hajar after one of his ancestors is arguably the best hadith scholar of the Mamluk period. The Dhahabi of his time and the amir al-muminin of the hadith scholars. Imam Suyuti says that he drank from the well of zamzam and prayed to Allah to give him more knowledge than Shams ad-Din adh-Dhahabi. He is the author of over 300 books some going into lengthy volumes. He died on Friday 28 Dhi al-Hijja 852 hijri and was buried in al-Qarrafa, Cairo, now famously known as the City of the Dead (madinat al-mawta).

About The Translator

Khalid Williams was born and raised in West Yorkshire, England. He studied Arabic at Leeds University, and after graduating in 2006 moved to Morocco to further his studies. Since then he has worked as a translator and copy editor on several scholarly projects, including most recently working extensively on a multi-volume exegesis of the Qur'an, as well as translating and editing for Sunni Publications in the Netherlands, with two titles published. His areas of interest are Islamic History, Qur'anic Exegesis, and Sufism.